U.S. patent application number 12/520733 was filed with the patent office on 2010-05-27 for hearing assistance system and method of operating the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to PHONAK AG. Invention is credited to Herbert Baechler, Stefan Haenggi.
Application Number | 20100128906 12/520733 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37906528 |
Filed Date | 2010-05-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100128906 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Haenggi; Stefan ; et
al. |
May 27, 2010 |
HEARING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME
Abstract
A system providing hearing assistance to a user having a
wireless remote control for transmitting control commands as an
amplitude modulated radio frequency signal, an RF power detector
for outputting a signal representative of the power envelope of the
RF signal received by an antenna of the RF power detector, a
classifier unit for analyzing the output signal of the RF power
detector to detect control commands of the remote control and to
detect the presence of a source of interfering RF signals, an audio
signal processing unit, and a user's ear worn part for stimulating
the user's hearing according to audio signals processed in the
audio signal processing unit. The classifier unit provides a
control signal representing detected remote control commands and an
interference signal representing the presence of a source of
interfering RF signals. Operation of the audio signal processing
unit is controlled by the control signal.
Inventors: |
Haenggi; Stefan; (Bern,
CH) ; Baechler; Herbert; (Meilen, CH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROBERTS MLOTKOWSKI SAFRAN & COLE, P.C.;Intellectual Property Department
P.O. Box 10064
MCLEAN
VA
22102-8064
US
|
Assignee: |
PHONAK AG
Staefa
CH
|
Family ID: |
37906528 |
Appl. No.: |
12/520733 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
December 20, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP06/12348 |
371 Date: |
January 18, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
381/315 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04R 25/554 20130101;
H04R 25/558 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
381/315 |
International
Class: |
H04R 25/00 20060101
H04R025/00 |
Claims
1. A system for providing hearing assistance to a user, comprising:
a wireless remote control for transmitting control commands as an
amplitude modulated radio frequency signal, a radio frequency power
detector for outputting a signal representative of the power
envelope of the radio frequency signal received by an antenna of
the radio frequency power detector, a classifier unit for analyzing
the output signal of the radio frequency power detector in order to
detect control commands of the remote control and to detect the
presence of a source of interfering radio frequency signals, an
audio signal processing unit, and means worn to be worn at or at
least in part in the user's ear for stimulating the user's hearing
according to audio signals processed in the audio signal processing
unit, wherein the classifier unit is for providing a control signal
representative of the detected remote control commands and an
interference signal representative of the presence of a source of
interfering radio frequency signals, and wherein operation of the
audio signal processing unit is controlled by said control
signal.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein operation of the audio signal
processing unit is controlled according to the interference signal
in order to suppress noise caused by the presence of a source of
interfering radio frequency signals.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the classifier unit is capable of
detecting a type of the source of interfering radio frequency
signals, with the interference signal provided by the classifier
unit comprising information regarding the type of the source of
interfering radio frequency signals.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the classifier unit comprises an
interference library for detecting the type of the source of
interfering radio frequency signals, said interference library
containing time-domain radio frequency power schemes of different
types of sources of interfering radio frequency signals.
5. The system of claim 3, wherein the classifier unit is capable of
detecting whether the transmission power of the source of
interfering radio frequency signals changes according to a
predictable scheme between low power regimes and high power regimes
in order to predict the times when the low power regimes and the
high power regimes are to be expected.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the audio processing unit is
controlled according to the predictions of the classifier unit
regarding the scheme of the interfering radio frequency
signals.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the classifier unit is capable of
determining the distance of the source of interfering radio
frequency signals from the radio frequency power detector in order
to output an interference source distance signal.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the classifier unit is capable of
determining the distance of the remote control from the radio
frequency power detector in order to output a remote control
distance signal.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the classifier unit includes a
channel loss model in order to generate at least one of the
interference source distance signal and the remote control distance
signal, which channel loss model includes a transmission power
library of the maximum transmission power of the remote control and
of the standards of maximum transmission power of the expected
types of sources of interfering radio frequency signals, wherein
the distance is determined by comparing the present transmission
power determined by the radio frequency power detector and the
respective value in the transmission power library.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the audio signal processing unit
and the stimulating means are part of a hearing instrument to be
worn at or at least in part in the user's ear.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the classifier unit is part of
the hearing instrument.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the output signal of the radio
frequency power detector has a frequency representative of the
detected radio frequency power, with the frequency being measured
by classifier unit.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the output signal of the radio
frequency power detector is generated by a voltage-controlled
oscillator to which a RSSI signal representative of the envelope of
the radio frequency power received by the antenna of the radio
frequency power detector is supplied.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein the radio frequency power
detector is connected to the hearing instrument via a standard
audio connector.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein the power detector is connected
to the hearing instrument via an standard I2C connector.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein the radio frequency power
detector is part of the hearing instrument.
17. The system of claim 10, wherein the system comprises a remote
device spaced apart from the hearing instrument for establishing a
wireless link between the remote device and the hearing instrument
for transmitting audio signals from the remote device to the
hearing instrument.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein means are provided for
operating the system in an interference mode as long as the
presence of a source of signals interfering with the wireless link
is detected, in which interference mode the transmission of the
signals from the remote device to the hearing instrument is
synchronized to the detected power scheme of the interfering
signals in such a manner that the signals are transmitted only
during the low power regimes.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the remote device is selected
from the group consisting of a microphone unit which is worn at the
other one of the user's ears; a remote device comprising an
external microphone and to be worn by another person or is worn by
the user; and a device for wireless transmission of audio signals
from an audio signal source to the hearing instrument.
20. The system of claim 17 wherein the remote device is a hearing
instrument which comprises means for stimulating the user's hearing
and which is worn at the other one of the user's ears.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein both hearing instruments
comprise at least one microphone, and wherein the wireless link is
a bi-directional audio signal link for exchanging the audio signals
captured by each of the microphones between the hearing
instruments.
22. The system of claim 20, wherein the wireless link serves as a
bi-directional data link for exchanging at least one of control
data and commands between the hearing instruments.
23. The system of claim 20, wherein the hearing instrument forming
the remote device comprises or is connected to a radio frequency
power detector for outputting a signal representative of the power
envelope of the radio frequency signal received by an antenna of
the radio frequency power detector and a classifier unit for
analyzing the output signal of the radio frequency power detector
in order to detect control commands of the remote control and to
detect the presence of a source of interfering radio frequency
signals, wherein the classifier unit is for providing a control
signal representative of the detected remote control commands and
an interference signal representative of the presence of a source
of interfering radio frequency signals, wherein the classifier unit
is capable of determining the distance of the source of interfering
radio frequency signals from the radio frequency power detector in
order to output an interference source distance signal, and wherein
the system is capable of determining the location of the source of
interfering radio frequency signals by comparing the interference
source distance signals provided by the classifier units of the two
hearing instruments.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein the system is capable of
determining to which of the hearing instruments the source of
interfering radio frequency signals is closer by comparing the
interference source distance signals provided by the classifier
units of the two hearing instruments it is.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the system is designed such
that if the presence of a source of interfering radio frequency
signals has been detected, audio signals captured by that hearing
instrument to which the source of interfering radio frequency
signals is closer are presented to the respective ear of the user
by that hearing instrument and also are transmitted to the other
hearing instrument for being presented to the other ear of the user
by the other hearing instrument.
26. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote control is a
communication device or a data processing device comprising a
remote control mode in which it is operated by a control software
which modulates the transmission power of an radio frequency
interface of the device.
27. The system of claim 1, wherein the classifier unit comprises a
remote control command dictionary for detecting the control
commands.
28. The system of claim 1, wherein the amplitude modulated radio
frequency signal is an ASK signal.
29. The system of claim 1, wherein the classifier unit or the radio
frequency power detector comprises a sampling block for digitizing
the output signal of the radio frequency power detector.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the sampling rate of the
sampling block is at least twice the shortest expected burst
repetition rate of the interfering radio frequency signals.
31. The system of one of claims 29, wherein the sampling block
comprises a one-bit comparator.
32. A system for providing hearing assistance to a user,
comprising: a wireless remote control for transmitting control
commands as an amplitude modulated radio frequency signal, a radio
frequency power detector for outputting a signal representative of
the power envelope of the radio frequency signal received by an
antenna of the radio frequency power detector, a classifier unit
for analyzing the output signal of the radio frequency power
detector in order to detect control commands of the remote control,
an audio signal processing unit, and means worn to be worn at or at
least in part in the user's ear for stimulating the user's hearing
according to audio signals processed in the audio signal processing
unit, wherein the classifier unit is for providing a control signal
representative of the detected remote control commands, wherein
operation of the audio signal processing unit is controlled by said
control signal, and wherein the remote control is a communication
device or a data processing device comprising a remote control mode
in which it is operated by a control software which modulates the
transmission power of an radio frequency interface of the
device.
33. The system of claim 32, wherein the device is a mobile phone or
a Personal Digital Assistant.
34. The system of claim 32, wherein the device comprises a
Bluetooth interface.
35. A method of operating a hearing assistance system comprising a
remote control, an radio frequency power detector, a classifier
unit, an audio signal processing unit, and means worn at or at
least in part in the user's ear for stimulating the user's hearing
according to audio signals processed in the audio signal processing
unit, the method comprising: transmitting, from the remote control,
control commands as an amplitude modulated radio frequency signal;
outputting, from the radio frequency power detector, a signal
representative of the power envelope of the radio frequency signal
received by an antenna of the radio frequency power detector;
analyzing, by the classifier unit, the output signal of the radio
frequency power detector in order to detect control commands of the
remote control and to detect the presence of a source of
interfering radio frequency signals; providing, by the classifier
unit, a control signal representative of the detected remote
control commands and an interference signal representative of the
presence of a source of interfering radio frequency signals; and
controlling operation of the audio signal processing unit by said
control signal.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the radio frequency power
detected by the radio frequency power detector is integrated over
time in order to provide for an radio frequency power dosimeter
functionality.
37. A method of operating a hearing assistance system comprising a
remote control, an radio frequency power detector, a classifier
unit, an audio signal processing unit, and means worn at or at
least in part in the user's ear for stimulating the user's hearing
according to audio signals processed in the audio signal processing
unit, the method comprising: transmitting, from the remote control,
control commands as an amplitude modulated radio frequency signal;
outputting, from the radio frequency power detector, a signal
representative of the power envelope of the radio frequency signal
received by an antenna of the radio frequency power detector;
analyzing, by the classifier unit, the output signal of the radio
frequency power detector in order to detect control commands of the
remote control; providing, by the classifier unit, a control signal
representative of the detected remote control commands; and
controlling operation of the audio signal processing unit by said
control signal; wherein the remote control is a communication
device or a data processing device comprising a remote control mode
in which it is operated by a control software which modulates the
transmission power of an radio frequency interface of the device.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a hearing assistance system
comprising a wireless remote control for transmitting control
commands as an amplitude modulated radio frequency signal, a radio
frequency (RF) power detector for outputting a signal
representative of the power envelope of the RF signal received by
an antenna of the RF power detector, an audio signal processing
unit, and means worn to be worn at or at least in part in the
user's ear for stimulating the user's hearing according to audio
signals processed in the audio signal processing unit. The
invention also relates to a method of operating such a hearing
assistance system.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Hearing instruments comprising means for stimulating the
user's hearing according to audio signals processed in the audio
signal processing unit of the hearing instrument often are used
together with a dedicated, usually wireless, remote control in
order to allow the user to interact with the hearing instrument via
an interface which is more convenient and has more features than
the one provided by the hearing instrument. Examples of such
systems are described in European Patent Applications EP 1 420 611
A1 and EP 1 326 480 A2, German Patent Application DE 100 48 338 A1,
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,816,600 and 4,947,432.
[0005] Such hearing assistance systems in addition often comprise a
remote device spaced apart from the hearing instrument for
establishing a wireless link between the remote device and the
hearing instrument for transmitting audio signals from the remote
device to the hearing device.
[0006] Examples of such hearing assistance systems are binaural
hearing aids (in this case the remote device is a hearing
instrument which is worn at the other one of the user's ears, with
both hearing instruments being hearing aids comprising a microphone
and an output transducer); in this case the link may serve as a
bi-directional data link for exchanging audio signals, control
data, and/or commands between the hearing aids.
[0007] Other examples of such a hearing assistance systems are CROS
or BiCROS systems (in this case the remote device is a wireless
microphone worn at the other one of the user's ears). In a CROS
(also spelled CROSS) system the hearing instrument does not
comprise a microphone, while in a BiCROS (also spelled BiCROSS)
system the hearing instrument comprises a microphone, depending on
whether the ear at which the hearing instrument is worn needs
hearing assistance or not. In both cases the ear at which the
wireless microphone is worn is essentially unable to be aided by a
hearing instrument.
[0008] According to further examples of such hearing assistance
systems the remote device is a remote control for the hearing
instrument (in this case the link is for transmitting control data
and/or commands from the remote control to the hearing instrument),
an external microphone worn by another person (for example a
teacher) or an external microphone worn by the user at a place
other than the ears, or a device for wireless transmission of audio
signal from a external audio signal source, such as a telephone, a
television, an external microphone, a hi-fi-system, etc.
[0009] Generally, the receiver unit for the wireless link could be
integrated within the hearing instrument/hearing aid, or the
receiver unit could be a separate device which is mechanically and
electrically connected to the hearing instrument/hearing aid,
usually via an "audio shoe" in order to provide the audio signals
received over the wireless link to an audio input of the hearing
aid.
[0010] In such known systems the wireless link from the remote
device to the receiver unit included in or connected to the hearing
instrument may be heavily disturbed if a source of interfering
radio frequency signals comes close to the hearing instrument. A
typical example for such interfering radio frequency source is a
mobile phone. Typically, a mobile phone transmits TDMA (time
division multiple access) signals, for example according to the GSM
(global system for mobile communications) standard. In this case
transmission from the mobile phone occurs periodically, with only
1/8 of the time being used for transmission. A similar periodic
transmission scheme is found in cordless telephone systems using
the DECT standard; also in this case only a relatively small
fraction of each period is used for transmission. This applies
similarly also to devices using the Bluetooth standard.
[0011] If such interfering radio frequency source is brought very
close to the hearing instrument worn had the user's ear, the link
between the remote device and the hearing instrument may break
down, what is very inconvenient for the user. Such radio frequency
sources may be considered as "burst interferes".
[0012] However, also systems which do not include such remote
device may suffer from interfering radio frequency signals which
may affect the audio path of the hearing instrument, thereby
producing unwanted audio artifacts.
[0013] Examples of wireless links for binaural hearing aid systems
are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,633 and U.S. Patent Application
Publication 2004/0037442 A1.
[0014] According to U.S. Patent Application Publication
2005/0117764 A1 the use of a DECT or GSM phone at one of the two
sides of a hearing aid set is detected by analyzing the level
difference between the left ear and right ear hearing coil in order
switch the respective hearing aid to a phone mode.
[0015] According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,568 and European Patent
Application EP 1 501 200 A2 a hearing aid is capable of recognizing
periodic RF (radio frequency) interference signals, for example
from mobile phones, with the gain of the hearing aid being
synchronized to the periodicity of the RF interference signals, so
that the gain of the hearing aid is reduced or even set to zero
during the presence of an interfering RF burst. According to U.S.
Patent Application Publication 2003/076974 A1 a hearing aid is
capable of detecting the presents of characteristic RF interference
signals in order to not only switch the gain of the hearing aid
accordingly but also to switch other parameters, such as the filter
band width, of the hearing aid accordingly. Thereby specific
auditory scenes can be recognized, in particular the use of a
telephone, in order to adapt the operation mode of the hearing aid
accordingly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] It is an object of the invention to provide for a hearing
assistance system comprising a remote control, an audio signal
processing unit and means for stimulating the user's hearing
according to audio signals processed in the audio signal processing
unit, which is structurally simple and which nevertheless is able
to deal with interfering RF-signals. It is a further object of the
invention to provide for a method for operating such hearing
assistance system.
[0017] According to the invention these objects are achieved by a
system and a method that is beneficial in that, by using a RF power
detector for outputting a signal representative of the power
envelope of the RF signal received by the RF power detector
together with a classifier unit for analyzing the output signal of
the RF power detector in order to detect both control commands of
the remote control and the presence of a source of interfering RF
signals, a particularly simple system is provided which not only
allows the system to be controlled by the remote control but in
addition also allows to detect interfering RF signals so that
specific countermeasures may be taken. Thus, the RF power detector
not only serves to detect interfering RF signals--as in the prior
art mentioned above--but in addition also serves to establish a
wireless link to a remote control.
[0018] The interference signal provided by the classifier unit may
be used to control the audio signal processing unit in such a
manner that noise caused by the presence of the interfering RF
signals is suppressed.
[0019] Preferably the audio signal processing unit, the stimulating
means and the classifier unit are part of a hearing instrument to
be worn at or at least in part in the user's ear, such as a behind
the ear (BTE) hearing aid, an in the ear (ITE) hearing aid or a
completely in the channel (CIC) hearing aid.
[0020] The system may comprise a remote device spaced apart from
the hearing instrument for establishing a wireless link between the
remote device and the hearing instrument for transmitting audio
signals from the remote device to the hearing instrument. In this
case, the interference signal from the classifier unit may be used
to synchronise the transmission of signals from the remote device
to the hearing instrument to the detected power scheme of the
interfering signals in such a manner that the signals are
transmitted only during the low power regimes of the interfering
signals. The remote device may be a microphone unit to be worn at
the other one of the user's ears, and external microphone to be
worn by, for example, another person, a device for wireless
transmission of audio signals from an audio signal source to the
hearing instrument, or a hearing instrument of a binaural
system.
[0021] Preferably, the classifier unit is capable of recognising
the type of interfering RF signals, with the interference signal
provided by the classifier unit comprising information regarding
the type of the source of interfering RF signals. For example, the
source of interfering RF signals may be a mobile phone which
usually emits time-division-multiple-access (TDMA) signals, which
often obey the GSM standard. If the interfering RF signals are
found to occur according to a predictable scheme, the classifier
unit may be used to predict the times when the low power regimes
and the high power regimes of the Interfering RF signals are to be
expected, so that the audio processing unit may be controlled
according to such predictions of the classifier unit.
[0022] Preferably, the classifier unit is capable of determining
the distance of the source of interfering RF signals from the RF
power detector in order to produce an interference source distance
signal; in addition, the classifier unit may be capable of
determining also the distance of the remote control from the RF
power detector in order to output a remote control distance signal.
These distance signals may be produced by a channel loss model of
the classifier unit, which includes a transmission power library of
the maximum transmission power of the remote control and of the
standards of maximum transmission power of the expected types of
sources of interfering RF signals, wherein the distance is
determined by comparing the present transmission power determined
by a RF power detector and the respective value in the transmission
power library.
[0023] In the case of a binaural system the distance of the source
of interfering RF signals may be determined by both hearing
instruments, i.e. by the respective RF power detector of each of
the hearing instruments, whereby the location of the source of
interfering RF signals may be estimated by comparing the values of
the distance, i.e. the interference source distance signals,
provided by teach of the classifier units of the two hearing
instruments. Thereby it can be determined, for example, to which of
the hearing instruments the source of interfering RF signals is
closer. For example, if the classifier unit has found that the
source of interfering RF signals is a mobile phone, the system may
determine to which of the two ears of the user the mobile phone is
closer, whereupon the audio signals captured by that hearing
instrument to which the interfering source is closer are
transmitted via a wireless link to the other hearing instrument for
being presented also to the other ear of the user by the other
hearing instrument, i.e. the audio signals captured from the
speaker of the mobile phone then are audible at both ears.
[0024] It is a further object of the invention to provide for a
particularly simple remote control for a hearing assistance
system.
[0025] According to the invention this object is achieved by a
system and a method utilizing a standard communication or data
processing device, such as a mobile phone or a Personal Digital
Assistant, comprising an RF interface already for another purpose
in a remote control mode in which it is operated by a control
software which modulates the power of the RF interface of the
device so that the need for a dedicated hardware remote control
device is eliminated, since only a dedicated software is necessary
to provided for the remote control function.
[0026] For example, the Bluetooth inquiry scan channel of a
Bluetooth interface may be used for such RF power modulation.
[0027] These and further objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from the following
description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings
which, for purposes of illustration only, show several embodiments
in accordance with the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an RF power
detector and a classifier unit of a hearing assistance system
according to the invention;
[0029] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the RF power detector of the
FIG. 1;
[0030] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a binaural
hearing aid system according to the invention;
[0031] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a CROS/BiCROS
system according to the invention;
[0032] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a hearing
assistance system according to the invention comprising a hearing
aid and an accessory device connected via a wireless link to the
hearing aid; and
[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example of the amplitude of a GSM
signal versus time, shown together with two examples of the data
packets transmitted by a hearing assistance system according to the
invention in the interference mode.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0034] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portion of a system for
providing hearing assistance to a user, which portion comprises a
wireless remote control 11, an RF power detector 13 comprising a RF
antenna 15, and a classifier unit 17.
[0035] According to one embodiment, the remote control 11 may be
realized as a small battery powered watch attachment with a
transmitter using producing an amplitude modulated (AM) RF signal,
for example, 100% ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) modulation. In this
respect, a number of unlicensed bands is available, for example, at
433 MHz, 868 MHz and 2.4 GHz. According to another embodiment the
remote control 11 could be realized as a common mobile phone or PDA
having standard hardware which is operated by a specific control
software which modulates the power of an RF transmitter of the
mobile phone or PDA, such as a built-in GSM transmitter or a
built-in Bluetooth transmitter.
[0036] The antenna 15 of the RF power detector 13 may be a
dedicated structure, like a printed PCB (Printed Circuit Board)
antenna, or a conductive element already used in the system for
other purposes, like a microphone wire or a battery of a hearing
instrument.
[0037] The RF power detector 13 is designed for outputting a signal
representative of the power envelope of the RF signal received by
the antenna 15, for example, as an RSSI (Received Signal Strength
Indication) signal.
[0038] An example of a simple design of such RF power detector 13
is shown in FIG. 2, according to which the antenna signal is passed
through a band pass filter 19 to a detector 21 which outputs the
square of the input signal to a low pass 23. The analogue output
signal of the low pass 23, which is representative of the power
envelope of the received RF signal, is supplied to a sampling block
25, which may be part of the RF power detector 13 or part of the
classifier unit 17 and which serves to digitize the power envelope
signal provided by the RF power detector 13. The sampling band
width needs to be in the range of the expected RF interferer burst
repetition rate, for example of a few kHz. In its simplest version,
the sampling block 25 is a one bit comparator. The RF power
detector 13 is able to measure the RF power envelope within a
certain bandwidth, for example from 0.5 to 2.8 GHz.
[0039] The classifier unit 17 serves several purposes.
[0040] First, it serves to detect control commands from the remote
control 11 by analyzing the digitized power envelope detected by
the RF power detector 13. To this end, the classifier unit 17
comprises a remote control command dictionary 27 to which the
digitized RF power envelope signal of the sampling block 25 is
provided in order to provide for an input to a command estimator
29, which outputs the corresponding remote control command as
detected.
[0041] Second, the power envelope signal of the sampling block 25
is used for detecting the presence of a source 28 of interfering RF
signals (i.e. an "interferer") in the vicinity of the RF power
detector 13 by supplying the power envelope signal to an
interference library 33 containing time-domain RF power schemes of
different types of sources 28 of interfering RF signals. The signal
provided by the interference library 33 is supplied to an
interference estimator 35. Thus, in addition to detecting the mere
presence of an interferer 28, also the type of interferer 28 can be
determined, and a corresponding signal is provided by the
interference estimator 35. Generally, the interferer 28 could be
periodic, i.e. predictable, such as a TDMA (Time Division Multiplex
Access) mobile phone such as a GSM mobile phone, a Bluetooth device
or a microwave oven, or it could be a non-periodic interferer, such
as a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) or a RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification Device). The interferer 28 could be an "intentional"
radiator, such as a mobile phone or a broadcast system, or it could
be a "non-intentional" radiator, such as a laptop computer, a power
supply or a fluorescence light. The interferer 28 may be considered
as disturbing to the hearing assistance system, in which case
countermeasures, e.g. for protecting a wireless link, may be taken,
as it will be described hereinafter, or it may be considered as
non-disturbing to the hearing assistance system. However, also in
the latter case it may be interesting to measure the RF power, for
example for providing for RF dosimeter functionality by integrating
the measured RF power over time in order to determine the overall
RF power accumulated during a certain time period to which the
user's body, in particular the user's head, has been exposed. Such
dosimeter functionality may include the generation of alarm signals
to the user when a certain predefined RF power dose is reached,
etc.
[0042] Third, the RF power envelope signal provided by the sampling
unit 25 is supplied to an RF channel loss model 37 in order to
determine the distance of the remote control 11 from the RF power
detector 13 and the distance of the interferer 28 from the RF power
detector 13, with the RF channel loss model 37 outputting a signal
representative of the interferer distance and a signal
representative of the remote control distance. To this end, the
channel loss model 37 includes a transmission power library
regarding the maximum transmission power of the remote control and
regarding the standards of the maximum transmission power of the
expected types of interferer 28, with the distance being determined
by comparing the present transmission power determined by the RF
power detector 13 and the respective value in the transmission
power library. For example, for a given type of remote control 11
the transmission power in a distance of 1 m is exactly known. If,
for example, the distance doubles, then the power reduces to one
fourth so that for a distance of 2 m the transmission power falls
to 25% (-6 dB). Thus, by measuring the received transmission power
the distance can be estimated. The interferer 28 usually will
transmit according to a standard protocol (such as DECT, GSM, WLAN,
Bluetooth, etc.) which has a well-defined maximum transmission
power. Thus, once the type of interferer 28 has been recognized by
the interference estimator 35 with the help of the interference
library 33, the distance of the interferer 28 can be estimated by
the channel loss model 37 from the present transmission power
measured by the RF power detector 13.
[0043] FIG. 3 shows an example of how the RF power detector 13 and
the classifier unit 17 of FIG. 1 can be used in a hearing
assistance system, such as a binaural hearing aid system. FIG. 3 is
a block diagram of a binaural hearing aid system comprising a
left-ear hearing aid 10 and a right-ear hearing aid 12 worn at the
right and left ear of a user 14, respectively. Each hearing aid 10,
12 comprises an antenna 16, a receiver/transmitter unit 18, a
microphone 20, a central processing unit 22 and an output
transducer 24. The antenna 16 and the receiver/transmitter unit 18
enable communication between the hearing aids 10 and 12 via a
wireless link 26 which may be an inductive link (utilization of the
near field) or a radio frequency (RF) link (utilization of the far
field), such as a frequency modulated (FM) link, for example a
frequency shift keying (FSK) link, or an ultra-wide-band link. The
link 26 is bi-directional and may serve to exchange audio signals
and/or control data and commands between the hearing aids 10, 12.
As will be explained subsequently, the audio signals are captured
by the respective microphone 20, and the control data/commands may
relate to the present setting of the respective hearing aid 10, 12
according to the present auditory scene determined by auditory
scene analysis performed by the central processing unit 22. The
link 26 may be a time division multiplex link or it may be a
frequency division multiplex link.
[0044] The microphone 20 captures audio signals which are supplied
to the central processing unit 22 in order to generate an input
audio signal for the output transducer 24. Usually processing of
the audio signals provided by the microphone 20 occurs depending on
the auditory scene as analyzed by the central processing unit 22 in
order to optimize perception of sound by the user 14. In a binaural
system the central processing unit 22 exchanges audio signals and
control data with the receiver transmitter unit 18 which has been
received by the antenna 16 from the other hearing aid via the link
26 or which are to be transmitted to the other hearing aid via the
link 26. The receiver/transmitter unit 18 is controlled by the
central processing unit 22. In the central processing unit 22 audio
signals received from the other hearing aid, i.e. from the other
ear, may be added to the audio signals from the microphone 20, and
also processing of the audio signals from the microphone 20 may be
performed by taking into account information provided from the
other hearing aid, whereby the perception of sound by the user 14
can be significantly improved.
[0045] The output transducer 24 serves to simulate the user's
hearing and may be an electro-acoustic transducer (i.e. a
loudspeaker), an electro-mechanical output transducer mechanically
coupled to the ear, or a cochlea implant.
[0046] Examples of binaural hearing aid systems comprising a
wireless link between the hearing aids are given in U.S. Pat. No.
6,549,633 B1, US 2004/0037442 A1 and US 2006/0018496 A1.
[0047] Each of the hearing aids 10, 12 is provided with or
connected to a RF power detector 13 and a classifier unit 17. In
the example shown in FIG. 3 the RF power detector 13 is external to
the hearing aids 10, 12, whereas the classifier unit 17 is
integrated into the hearing aids 10, 12. The antenna used by the RF
power detector 13 may be a dedicated antenna 15, or, in particular
if the RF power detector 13 is integrated in the hearing aid 10,
12, it also could be the RF antenna 16 of the hearing aid 10, 12 or
any other appropriate conductive structure of the hearing aid 10,
12, such as microphone wire or a battery of the hearing aid 10,
12.
[0048] In the example shown in FIG. 3 the RF power detector 13 is
connected to the classifier unit 17 of the hearing aids 10, 12 via
an interface 39 which, according to one embodiment, could be a
standardized EURO audio connector, or, according to another
embodiment, a standardized I2C connector which is normally used
just for fitting. In both cases such interface 39 would allow to
DC-power the RF power detector 13.
[0049] If the interface 39 is an audio connector, the signal
provided by the RF power detector 13, typically a logarithmic RSSI
signal, could be converted by a voltage-controlled oscillator (not
shown) to an audio frequency (for example from 300 Hz to 5 kHz),
which could be easily measured within the hearing aids 10, 12 and
which has a direct relationship to the RF power detected by the RF
power detector 13.
[0050] The classifier unit 17 is connected to the central
processing unit 22 in order to supply the various output signals
shown in FIG. 1 to the core of the hearing aid 10, 12. The
information provided by the classifier unit 17 thus can be utilized
by the central processing unit 22 in order to control operation of
the hearing aid 10, 12 accordingly. For example, the audio signal
processing performed in the central processing unit 22 may be
controlled according to the interference signal provided by the
interference estimator 35 in order to suppress noise in the audio
signal path caused by the presence of an interferer 28. To this
end, the filter and the gain applied by the central processing unit
22 to the audio signals being processed may be adapted to the type
of interferer 28. For example, if the detected interferer 28 is a
periodic interferer, i.e. having a predictable time windows for the
occurrence of bursts, the gain may be reduced during times when the
occurrence of a burst is expected. This feature can be used also
for "stand-alone" hearing instruments which do not have a wireless
connection to a remote device other than the remote control 11.
[0051] However, if there is such wireless connection to a remote
device, which in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is the respective
other one of the hearing aids 10, 12, the information provided by
the classifier unit 17 alternatively or in addition may be used to
optimize operation of the wireless link, as it will be explained in
the following.
[0052] During practical use of the hearing aids 10, 12 the link 26
may be disturbed by the presence of a source 28 of radio frequency
signals interfering with the link 26 and having an amplitude
changing periodically between a low amplitude regime ("idle time")
and a high amplitude regime ("burst"), i.e. the energy of the
interfering RF signals changes periodically. An example of such
interfering RF signal source 28 is a mobile phone which is used at
one of the ears of the user 14 and hence in close proximity to one
of the hearing aids 10, 12. Mobile phones usually emit
time-division-multiple-access (TDMA) signals, which often obey the
GSM standard.
[0053] An example of a GSM signal is shown in FIG. 4. GSM signals
use frequency bands at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz with a maximum
transmission power of 2 W and 1 W, respectively. A GSM signal is
divided into frames, each having a length of 4.62 msec. Each frame
is divided into 8 time slots, each having a length of 0.58 msec.
One of these 8 time slots is dedicated to the respective GSM
device, so that each GSM device transmits only during 1/8 of each
frame, i.e. the GSM device periodically transmits bursts having a
length of 0.58 msec with a repetition period of 4.62 msec. Thus a
GSM signal can be considered as a signal having an amplitude
changing periodically between a low amplitude regime during which
the amplitude is essentially zero and which has a duration of about
4.04 msec. and a high amplitude regime during which the amplitude
is essentially constant and which has a duration of about 0.58
msec. In the following, the high amplitude regime also will be
labeled as "bursts", while the low amplitude regime also will be
labeled "idle time".
[0054] Signals of similar structure and at similar frequency bands
are also emitted by devices using the DECT standard, which is
commonly used for cordless phones and which is divided into time
frames of a length of 10 msec. which are divided into time slots
having a duration of about 0.42 msec., or by devices using the
Bluetooth standard, which has a burst repetition period of 1.25
msec., with each burst lasting for 0.37 msec.
[0055] Without counter-measures, the link 26 between the hearing
aids 10 and 12 would be heavily disturbed and usually would break
down during transmission of the bursts of an RF interfering device
28 if such device 28 was used at one of the ears of the user 14. In
this respect it has to be noted that the bursts primarily would
disturb reception of the signals transmitted via the link 26, while
transmission of the signals essentially would not be affected. Due
to the relatively small distance between the ears in most cases
reception of the signals transmitted via the link 26 would be
heavily disturbed by the RF interfering device 28 both in the case
which the device 28 is used at that hearing aid which is presently
receiving and in the case in which the device 28 is used at that
hearing aid which is presently transmitting. However, there may be
cases in which heavy disturbance of the reception occurs only if
the interfering device 28 is used at that hearing aid which is
presently receiving.
[0056] In order to avoid disturbance of the link 26--and in
particular to avoid loss of data--during the presence of a RF
interfering device 28 the binaural system, by providing the RF
power detector 13 and the classifier unit 17, is designed such that
it is permanently detected whether a source 28 of RF signals
interfering with the link 26 and having an amplitude changing
periodically between a low amplitude regime and a high amplitude
regime is present in the vicinity of one of the hearing aids 10, 12
(as already mentioned above, in some cases it may be sufficient to
detect only whether such source 28 is present in the vicinity of
that hearing aid which is presently receiving). During times in
which no presence of an interfering RF source is detected, the
binaural system is operated in a base mode, i.e. a conventional
wireless data/audio signal exchange mode. As long as the presence
of a source of interfering RF signals is detected, the system
switches into an interference mode in which the transmission of
signals via the link 26 is synchronized to the periodicity of the
amplitude of the interfering RF signals in such a manner that the
signals are transmitted via the link 26 only during the low
amplitude regime, i.e. the idle times of the interfering RF
signals.
[0057] In most cases it will be necessary that transmission from
any of the two hearing aids 10, 12 occurs in the interference mode
irrespective of the question at which of the two hearing aids 10,
12 the interfering device 28 is used. As already mentioned above,
in some cases it may be sufficient that only transmission from that
hearing aid at which the interfering device 28 is not used occurs
in the interference mode while transmission from that hearing aid
at which the interfering device 28 is used may occur in the base
mode.
[0058] Further, in view of the fact that the interfering device 28
usually will be a phone, in the interference mode preferably audio
signals captured by that hearing aid to which the interfering
device 28 is closer are not only presented to the respective ear
via the output transducer 24 of that hearing aid, but are also
transmitted via the link 26 to the other hearing aid for being
presented also to the other ear of the user. By comparing the
interferer distance signals provided by the RF channel loss model
37 of the classifier unit 17 of each hearing aid 10, 12 it can be
determined to which of the hearing aids 10, 12 the interferer 28 is
closer.
[0059] Synchronization of the transmission of the signals via the
link 26 in the interference mode may be achieved by measuring the
amplitude of the interfering radio frequency signals in time domain
by the RF power detector 13 and predicting the idle time periods,
i.e. the periods of time during which the low amplitude regime will
prevail, by the classifier unit 17.
[0060] The control of the two hearing aids 10, 12 regarding the
interference mode may be realized by a symmetric architecture or by
a master/slave architecture; in the latter case one of the hearing
aids 10, 12 would be the master while the other one would be the
slave.
[0061] An example of the data/audio signal transmission in the
interference mode is shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, according
to which the data to be transmitted is divided into packets A, B,
C, D, etc. of equal length which is slightly less than the duration
of the idle time period between two adjacent bursts of the GSM
interfering signal. The data packets A, B, . . . are transmitted
only during the idle time periods so that there is no overlap with
the bursts.
[0062] According to an alternative embodiment, transmission of the
signals in the interference mode may be controlled such that the
signal is transmitted in packets A1, A2, B1, B2, etc. having a
length of not more than half of the idle time period, i.e. the
period length of the low amplitude regime, with each packet
subsequently being transmitted twice. In this case no
synchronization of the transmission with the idle time periods is
necessary, since by reducing the packet length to half of the idle
time period length and by transmitting each packet twice it is
ensured that each packet is transmitted once completely within an
idle time period without overlap with the bursts. This is also
apparent from the lower part of FIG. 6. In this example, the packet
A of the upper part of FIG. 4 has been divided into two portions A1
and A2, and the packet B has been divided into two packets B1, B2,
etc. It is apparent that this simpler solution, which does not
require synchronization to the phase of the interfering signal, the
data transmission rate is roughly reduced by a factor of 2 due to
the need to transmit each packet twice so that the bandwidth is
reduced accordingly in the interference mode. By contrast,
according to the solution in which transmission occurs only during
the idle time periods the bandwidth is reduced only slightly with
respect to the base mode (i.e. only by about 1/8).
[0063] This concept is applicable not only to binaural hearing aid
systems; rather, it is generally applicable to any hearing
assistance system comprising a hearing instrument which is
connected to a remote device, i.e. a device spaced apart from the
hearing instrument, via a wireless link for receiving data/audio
signals from that remote device. Consequently, the embodiment of
FIG. 3 may be considered as a specific case of this more general
concept, wherein the remote device is the second hearing aid.
[0064] FIGS. 4 and 5 show other examples of the application of a RF
power detector 13 and a classifier unit 17 for hearing assistance
systems comprising a wireless link to a remote device in addition
to the wireless link to the remote control 11. According to FIG. 4
the remote device is a wireless microphone unit 30 of a CROS or
BiCROS system, whereas in the example of FIG. 5 the remote device
is an accessory device 40 which is connected to a hearing
instrument 210 worn at one of the user's ears via a wireless link
26 (usually the system will comprise a second hearing instrument
(not shown in FIG. 5) worn at the other one of the user's
ears).
[0065] According to FIG. 4 the microphone unit 30 is connected via
a wireless link 26 with a hearing instrument 110 which is generally
similar to the hearing aid 10 of FIG. 3. In the case of a CROS
system, the hearing instrument 110 would not include the microphone
20.
[0066] The hearing instrument 110 is worn at the better ear of the
user 14, while the microphone unit 30 is worn at the worse ear. The
microphone unit 30 comprises a microphone 32, a central processing
unit 34, a receiver transmitter unit 36 and an antenna 38. The
audio signals generated by the microphone 32 are processed in the
central unit 34 and then are supplied to the receiver/transmitter
unit 36 for being transmitted via the antenna 38 over the link 26
to the hearing instrument 110 in order to be presented via the
output transducer 26 to the better ear of the user 14. In a BiCROS
system these audio signals will be combined in the central
processing unit 22 of the hearing instrument 110 with audio signals
captured by the microphone 20 of the hearing instrument 110.
[0067] If the presence of an interfering device 28 at the hearing
instrument 110 is detected, transmission of the audio signals from
the microphone unit 30 will occur in the interference mode. In most
cases this will also apply if an interfering device 28 is detected
at the microphone unit 30. Detection of the presence of an
interfering device 28 at the hearing instrument 110 or at the
microphone unit 30 will be performed by the RF power detector 13
and the classifier unit 17. If the interfering device 28 is
detected at the microphone unit 30, corresponding information has
to be transmitted to the microphone unit 30 from the hearing
instrument 110; such information may include the confirmation that
transmission has to occur in the interference mode, information
regarding where the interfering device 28 is located (i.e. at the
hearing instrument 110 or the microphone unit 30), information
regarding the burst length and the idle time length, and
information regarding the phase of the interfering signal (this is
necessary only if in the interference mode the transmission has to
be synchronized to the phase of the idle times).
[0068] In FIG. 5 an embodiment is shown wherein the remote device
is an accessory device 40 which is connected to a hearing
instrument 210 worn at one of the user's ears via a wireless link
26. The accessory device 40 may be designed for use by another
person, such as a teacher teaching hearing-impaired pupils in a
classroom, or it may be designed for being worn or used by the
person 14 using the hearing instrument 210. In the latter case, the
accessory device 40 may be worn somewhere at the user's body,
except for the head. Further, the accessory device 40 could
designed for stationary use somewhere in the room where the user 14
of the hearing instrument 210 stays.
[0069] Usually the accessory device 40 will comprise at least an
antenna 42, a receiver/transmitter unit 44 and a central processing
unit 46. The central processing unit 46 controls the
receiver/transmitter unit 44 and provides the data to be
transmitted via the antenna 42 over the link 26 to the hearing
instrument 210.
[0070] The accessory device 40 may serve as an audio signal source
for the hearing instrument 210. To this end, it may be provided
with a microphone 50 and/or an input 52 for an external audio
source 54, such as a phone, a television device, a hi-fi-system,
etc.
[0071] Rather then being directly connected to the accessory device
40 via the input 52, such external audio source also could be
represented by a device 56 which is connected to the accessory
device 40 via a wireless link 58. Such external device 56 may
include an antenna 60, a transmitter 62, a central unit 64, a
microphone 66, an audio signal source 68 and/or an input 70 for an
audio source 72.
[0072] In the embodiment of FIG. 5 it is sufficient to detect
whether an interfering device 28 is close to the hearing instrument
210. Such detection will be performed by the RF power detector 13
and the classifier unit 17. As soon as the presence of an
interfering device 28 is detected, transmission of the signals from
the accessory device 40 will occur in the interference mode. In
case that the presence of an interfering device 28 is detected,
corresponding information will have to be transmitted from the
hearing instrument 210 to the accessory device 40.
[0073] In the above embodiments the antenna 16 and
receiver/transmitter unit 18 have been shown as a part of the
hearing instrument 10, 110, 210. However, according to an
alternative embodiment, all elements necessary for the link 26
could be part of a separate receiver/transmitter unit which is
mechanically and electrically connected to the hearing instrument
10, 110, 210, e.g. via an audio shoe (this is indicated by a dashed
line around 16, 18 in FIGS. 3 to 5).
[0074] Moreover, in the above embodiments only periodic interfering
FM signals have been discussed in which idle times and bursts are
repeated subsequently. However, the present invention is generally
applicable to any interfering FM signals which have a transmission
power changing according to a predictable scheme between low power
regimes and high power regimes. In that case, transmission of the
signals from the remote device to the hearing device are
synchronized to the detected power scheme of the interfering
signals in such a manner that the signals are transmitted only
during the low power regimes. To this end, the hearing device will
identify the detected power scheme in order to predict the times of
the low power regimes, e.g. with the help of a library of known
transmission power schemes. According to an alternative embodiment,
the transmission of the signals from the remote device to the
hearing device is controlled such that the signals are transmitted
in packets each having a length of not more than half the length of
the shortest one of the low power regimes of the detected power
scheme, with each packet subsequently being transmitted twice.
[0075] While various embodiments in accordance with the present
invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the
invention is not limited thereto, and is susceptible to numerous
changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art.
Therefore, this invention is not limited to the details shown and
described herein, and includes all such changes and modifications
as encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *